A rally took place yesterday evening, outside the US Department of Defence's official SXSW stage, staged by a number of like-minded organisations, protesting against the U.S. Army’s sponsorship of the festival, as well as the financial involvement of RTX (formerly Raytheon) Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems – companies that are involved in the manufacturing and supplying of weapons to Israel.

Austin Democratic Socialists of America, Austin for Palestine Coalition and Jewish Voice for Peace, were all in attendance to lend their voices in solidarity with Palestine.

Irish band, Gurriers and New York group, Cumgirl8, among various other artists, were in attendance, to listen and to contribute to raising awareness of the Palestinian cause – and to voice their disgust at armaments and military sponsorship of South By Southwest.

“SXSW you can’t hide/ You’re supporting genocide.”

There were dramatic scenes, as the chant rang out into the evening sky, loud music meanwhile blaring from the US Department of Defence building, in an attempt to drown out the peaceful gathering.

SXSW Palestine protest outside US Department of Defence. Copyright Ed Murphy

JUST AND HUMANE

One of the organisers, Gumbo V, spoke to Hot Press about the demonstration.

“The first thing I want to do is give a shout out to the Irish, as a people, for standing always on the side of moral and human rights and against apartheid,” Gumbo said. “The Austin for Palestine Coalition has been organising at City Hall for the better part of five months, agitating for a ceasefire resolution and grinding non-stop against our Mayor, who doesn’t give a shit, and council members who don’t want it to come up on the agenda.

“So seeing the momentum behind this SXSW boycott has been a very inspiring moment for all of us. It has boosted all of our efforts in the struggle for recognition of Palestinian liberation and for an end to the conflict.”

Another organiser, Henry Kohen, spoke about SXSW’s relationship with the military.

“The truth is that it remains profitable to be associated with these companies,” he lamented. “They will invite them in and they will drag their heels and make statements like the one they did before – like, ‘We want everyone to be represented'. The truth is we cannot compete with the profit that these companies give to South by Southwest. They will probably continue to work with these companies. And they will continue to justify it – and we will continue building a movement.”

“Pardon my French, but they can go fuck themselves,” Gumbo snarled. “There’s no excuse for trying to play both sides here. There’s no excuse for trying to say that the military has done good things. We shouldn’t have to rely on militarism and imperialism to have technological advances. We are far stronger as a species and a society when we stand In solidarity with each other, when we organise for a better world – one that is actually just and humane and based on our needs, and not the desires of the rich.”

Asked if, with more notice and understanding of the sponsorship situation, whether bands will boycott in bigger numbers on 2025, Gumbo V agreed that there might be a tectonic shift in attitudes among musicians.

“Certainly, I think there will be an awareness. People will take the time to research what they are showing up to, and that is a big part of what we are hoping to achieve. To have more mindfulness in the way we engage with each other, the way we spend our money, the way we choose to show up and lend our voices to things. The bands that have chosen to spend the money to end up here, and have now taken a loss, that is not lost on us as locals here. And if we can organise in a way that gives them an opportunity to come here next year and to engage with our city and festival outside of the scope of an official capacity, we will make that possible.”

SXSW Palestine protest outside US Department of Defence. Copyright Ed Murphy

STANDING IN SOLIDARITY

Speaking about another issue artists have had with SXSW for years, Henry described the unfair pay discrepancies.

“Another big aspect to it is that South By pays musicians dirt, if anything," he scoffed. “At Cheer up Charlie’s - an Austin LGBTQ bar and venue of artists refusing to play official SXSW showcases – you get paid $150 per set. You can either get that in cash or as a wristband, which has maybe a cash value of $750, but only if you go to the festival. What use is that for an artist trying to make a living making music?

"For a lot of bands, it was an easy choice (to boycott) because they were not getting paid enough. Their labour was being stolen from them because they were coming here and doing hours and hours of work and being paid nothing, while South By makes millions. They saw a chance to say: not only can I do something that lets me sleep at night, but I won’t lose anything. I stand only to gain, standing in solidarity.”

On the question of whether SXSW will keep their military sponsorships for the festival in 2025, Gumbo wasn’t optimistic.

“Honestly, I think they will. I think they will try and make this a one-off thing. They [SXSW] think that next year they probably won’t still be actively fighting and so we can make it go away. We are not gonna let them make it go away, because at the end of the day we shouldn’t have the military industrial complex in these cultural spaces. And we shouldn’t be giving any platform, money or prestige to people who sell weapons, and parts, to kill masses of civilians.”

SXSW Palestine protest outside US Department of Defence. Copyright Ed Murphy